Mr. Schu: ​Congratulations, Christian! Everyone loves hearing about
THE CALL. What ran through your head when the phone rang? What were you
thinking about when the Caldecott committeewas
clapping for you?

Christian Robinson:
Okay, so this is how it went down. I was asleep when the phone
rang at about 3:40 am PST. I live in San Francisco. My boyfriend lying
beside me quickly awoke to stop the ringing. He's a teacher and is usually up
way before I am. Thinking his alarm was going off, he reached for his phone and
fiddled with it for a while. At which point I recognized it was my ringtone,
which is the Harry Potter theme song. As I reached for my phone, my heart was
pounding, sweaty palms, million thoughts racing. It said Boston, MA on the
phone so I knew that was a good thing! Everything is kinda blurry after that. I
remember trying to sound like a functioning human being, but I’m pretty sure I
had that groggy morning rasp to my voice and just kept repeating: "Oh,
wow! Thank you! Oh, wow! Thank you."

A few minutes later I got a call from the CSK committee,
and after that a call from my agent Steve informing me that Matt had won the
Newbery. It was a very good morning.

Mr. Schu:What does the Caldecott mean to you?

Christian Robinson:
I love donuts, glazed are my favorite. Being able to make
pictures for a living is like a glazed donut. The Caldecott is like sprinkles
on top of an already awesome food. This might be the best analogy ever written!
What I’m trying to say is that I’m already living my dream, being able to tell
stories with pictures and work with kids. The Caldecott is an encouraging stamp
of approval that will hopefully allow me to continue doing what I love.

About John Schu

I am a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University and the Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic. I work diligently to put the right book in every child's hand. Book trailers are one way to connect readers with books. (All opinions shared are on own.)